Exiles From Delight
by The Romanticidal Edwardian
Summary: AU, BxE. "And Bella knew that had to be the case because the strangest thing about the man was not the cracking sound that accompanied his arrival, the faux lightning, or his sudden, inexplicable appearance. It was the wings that lay underneath him..."
1. Fallen

_We are weaned from our timidity_

_In the flush of love's light_

_we dare be brave_

_And suddenly we see_

_that love costs all we are_

_and will ever be._

_Yet is only love_

_which sets us fr-_

"Bella!"

"Yes!" Startled, Bella looked up from the book of poetry she was reading - and which she was supposed to be stocking - to the face of her manager, his face poised between amused and annoyed. Bella blushed heavily at being caught, looking up timidly now.

Benjamin rolled his eyes but chuckled lightly. He was here to free her after all. "Anyway, I wanted to come tell you that it appears I over-scheduled employees today, so I wanted to know if you wanted to go home an hour early?"

Eagerly, Bella nodded. While normally she loved working at the book store, summer had started, and many of the other employees were taking their vacations. Particularly the younger ones. Bella was only twenty-one but didn't really enjoy the things others in her age group did. So she declined from going anywhere, and therefore ended with the duty of picking up a bundle of the extra shifts now open. Yesterday she had worked a twelve hour day, and today was a ten. Well, at least now it was nine.

"Good," Benjamin said. "You work too much anyway, and I really appreciate it. Go clock out and get out of here. Enjoy the summer."

"Okay," Bella muttered. She knew that he was right. Summer in Washington was the only semi-decent time of the year and in theory she _should_ be out there enjoying it.

Sighing, she went to the staff room, threw her backpack over her shoulder, clocked out, and left the building.

She felt unsettled as she drove away in her old, red motorbike, something a friend had taught her how to ride. Her father hated it. She loved it. It was the only thing she had that made her feel like she wasn't just wasting her life away going through the motions.

As she zoomed down the streets, she thought of what she would normally be doing about now. She would head immediately home and maybe watch some television, then spend the rest of the day writing. But it was actually sunny for once. There was a cool breeze; the air was warm. And while Bella's home-bound heart usually found pleasure only in the solitude of her quarters, it squeezed painfully at the thought of locking herself inside today.

"Why not?" Bella suddenly muttered to herself. "There's nothing saying I can't go out."

And there was one place where she had a sudden yearning to be.

She stopped at home briefly to change out of her work uniform and into a more suitable outfit of comfortable blue jeans and soft white tee, grabbed her favorite writing notebook and pen, and then she was out of her small one-bed, one-bath apartment and driving through the streets of Seattle, enjoying the atypical, pleasant breeze on the parts of her face that weren't covered up with a helmet.

On the outskirts of town, nearly an hour drive away for Bella, was her favorite park. She didn't go there as often as she would like because of the trip it was, but the thrumming in her veins told her the large forest reservation was where she needed to be, just this once.

Bella looked around as she parked, throwing down the kickstand and securing her helmet to the handle with a lock. The trees were large and overhanging. The bark was always dark with the constant moisture it received. Hanging moss draped like protective veils through the branches. The shadows that covered the ground were not as dark or blue or they normally were due to the sun, but all in all the place still held that dark, fairytale magic that made it one of Bella's favorite places in the world thus far.

For the most part the forest was left untouched. There was one concrete path that ran a circle around some of the wood, and a children's play set in a cleared out field.

The only other disturbances to the natural layout were man-made foot trails for hikers and joggers. It was down one of these paths that Bella began walking with her backpack full of supplies and her iPod playing in her ears.

The dirt was damp with rains from earlier in the week, and the trees blocked most of the sun's rays from reaching the forest floor. Bella shivered a little from the cool air rising from the ground, but marched forward determinedly.

A couple months ago, while walking down this very same trail, she had accidentally wondered off the path and into an untouched section of the wood. She might've been scared of losing her way, except that she ended up stumbling into the most beautiful, perfect meadow ever seen. It had been sunny that day as well with spring started, and fresh, lively wildflowers sprung up everywhere amidst soft, long grass, encased by a perfect circle of trees. It was her fairytale hideaway. And it was where she headed off to now for the second time, hoping to recapture that preserved magic - if she could find it again.

Bella paused suddenly by a gnarled, sad-looking tree. "I think you're the marker I made…" Bella muttered hesitantly, half to the tree, half to herself. The tree made no indication to her whether she was right or not, so, stealing herself up, Bella carefully began her descent off the path, stepping cautiously over fallen branches, slick mud, and nudged aside hanging moss and vines.

About ten minutes later, when Bella began to feel certain that she had made the wrong choice and lost her way, she stumblingly emerged through a curtain of vines into her meadow. She gasped happily, a rarely-used smile spreading over her face. It was exactly how she remembered it. It was perfect.

"Victory!" she declared, raising her fists in triumph, before throwing her pack to the ground and retrieving the blanket inside to spread on the slightly-damp ground. She lowered herself onto her stomach with a sigh, took out her notebook and pen, and began to scribble down the short story that had popped into her head on her walk here.

She was an aspiring author, but unfortunately she couldn't think of an idea good enough to turn into a novel truly worth reading, and she would settle for nothing less. So she just practiced most days instead, writing whatever she felt like.

The meadow was peaceful. Bella even took off her headphones to listen to gentle sounds around her. Birds occasionally rustling in the trees, the wind whistling through the grass with every light breeze, leaves being pressed into the ground by scurrying creatures. When the sun shone, the meadow sparkled from the reflection of light on lingering water droplets. And when the sun was covered by the occasional passing cloud, the meadow transformed into a more shadowy sort of magic. Bella was not normally a fan of hands-on nature, but as the day progressed and it got closer and closer to the time when she would have to leave, she felt a sense of loss permeate her mind.

Twilight fell and Bella knew that it was finally time to go. It was getting too dark to write anyway. But there was still a sinking in her stomach as she purposefully turned away from this sanctuary made just for her.

With a heavy heart and leaden feet, she began to make her way out of the meadow and into the trees.

Suddenly, a loud _crack_ rang through the air from behind her. Bella automatically froze in fear as a multi-colored flash of light played on the trees in front of her, their source coming from behind, in the meadow.

Bella's immediate thought was that lightning had struck behind her, but a brief glance in the sky, now perfectly still, showed not a cloud in the sky. Heart pumping fast, she slowly turned back around to the empty space behind her.

But it was empty no longer. She wanted to gasp but couldn't find the air to breathe as she stared at the sight before her.

Now lying on the ground before her was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. His long, lean build dressed in simple black clothing laid upon the soft grass and flowers limply, but there was still a grace in it. He had the most brilliant shade of hair Bella had never seen before, a subtle, glinting copper. And his face…his face was perfection. Chiseled jaw, straight nose, soft copper lashes dusting his cheekbones, strong brow. She could only wonder at what beauty lay behind his closed eyelids. His exquisiteness was such that he could only have been crafted by an artist with godly power.

And Bella knew that had to be the case because the strangest thing about the man was not the cracking sound that accompanied his arrival, the faux lightning, or his sudden, inexplicable appearance. It was the wings that lay underneath him, the same shade as his hair. As Bella watched, they fluttered lightly, and then began to fade; return, fade, then return, until finally they disappeared all together. Bella couldn't help but to approach, falling to her knees beside this otherworldly man in awe.

And then the angel began to stir.

Bella watched in amazement as his brow furrowed before his eyes started to slowly open, blinking. He looked completely disoriented, and it was a full minute before he could open his eyes all the way.

Bella gasped as she finally saw what lay beneath his eyelids, completing the beauty of his face. His eyes were an enchanting emerald green, such a perfect shade that she had never seen it on a person before, much the same as with his hair.

At her gasp, the fallen angel's eyes flashed to her. Sooner than she could even blink, he jumped up and stumbled away from her, falling back down as his legs buckled beneath him. He kept himself propped up by his arms as he breathed heavily, glaring at her but keeping silent.

Bella's heart was beating hard beneath her skin, and she too had fallen backward at his sudden movement. She stared, wide-eyed, back into his suspicious eyes.

"Are…are you okay?" Bella croaked, her throat run dry. The image of his wings flickering in and out of existence was burned in her cornea. It was surreal.

The angel didn't answer, staying still as a stone. His face reflected his caution. Bella suddenly considered whether he could even speak, or speak English.

He was beautiful, and if she had to place an origin to his features, she would say some kind of European. Then she wondered if that were even possible. Were angels born on Earth?

She shifted through her long-since-used French lessons in high school, the only other language she was semi-familiar with. "Um…est-ce que tu…parles…francais?" It was worth a try.

The angel moved at last, raising one eyebrow. Then his lips twitched into a crooked grin that took Bella's breath away.

He finally relaxed, adjusting to sit on the ground cross-legged away from her. "I speak many languages," he said, his quiet voice smooth and musical. "But where am I?"

Bella swallowed heavily. "W-Washington. State. In the United States. Seattle specifically," she answered. She wondered if that helped at all. The angel looked deep in thought.

Bella glanced at the sky. Only a few streaks and pink and purple were left in the sky. It was almost completely dark.

"We should get out of here," Bella said to him. "It's getting dark and we'll be stuck if we don't leave. You could…come with me if you want, for now. If you want." Bella couldn't believe any of this was really happening. She had never had a man stay over at her house, ever, and now she was inviting an…angel…It was impossible to wrap her mind around. And yet, it all seemed to be the perfect, most logical thing to do.

The angel was silent for several long moments, and then slowly nodded. "Yes, perhaps that would be best. For now." He raised to his feet, his legs slightly wobbly beneath him. He took a hesitant step, and then another one.

Bella scrambled to her own feet and cautiously walked toward him. "Do you want me to help you?" she asked, unsure. "Until you get the hang of it?" If she had wings, she wouldn't do much walking either.

He stared at her, eyes unreadable. "Yes," he finally repeated. "Thank you."

"Oh no problem," she said automatically, letting out a shaky laugh. This entire situation was unreal.

Bella put her arm around his waist and his arm came to lay on her shoulders. Bella barely made contact with anyone, and now she was pressed against the side of some godly creature. With an incredibly nice physique. She had to remember to keep breathing because passing out would help no one's case.

They began to stumble their way through the trees, searching for the trail. By the time they found it, the angel had become much more dexterous and balanced on his feet, and proceeded to then help _Bella_ not to trip.

"So, what's your name?" Bella asked as they escaped the trail and she began leading them to her motorbike.

"Edward," he answered. "What should I call you?"

"Bella." She smiled. "Well here we are!" She waved a hand as they stopped next to her bike.

Edward stared at it. "Do you know how many people get killed on these things?" he asked in disdain. Well, that wasn't what she expected to come out of his mouth.

"Not an exact number, no." She swung a leg over the seat and scooted up close to the handlebars. "How do _you_ know? Were you a guardian angel or something?" There was no point pretending she hadn't seen his wings.

Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "I can't talk about this right now," he told her, eyes darkening in the dim light.

"That's okay," Bella said. "You don't have to tell me. Yet." She picked up her helmet, contemplating. "I only have the one…" She held it out to him. "To ease your mind a little."

He gently pushed it back towards her. "You wear it Bella," he murmured, finally climbing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Bella felt her heart skip a beat when he said her name, and start to gallop as he held her, even if he was just doing it out of necessity. Taking a deep breath, she started the engine and carefully peeled off, beginning the journey home.

What a strange day.

The wind rushed past Edward's face as he clung onto the strange mortal that was helping him, whizzing through the city streets and artificial light.

He wasn't sure why he landed near this girl, Bella, but he was grateful the Horae had at least banished him with someone he could trust while he adjusted to his new situation. She was a little bit odder than any other human he had ever observed, but he could tell she was kind, and that was comforting. Especially when everything else was so off.

Edward felt a million things coursing through him and surrounding him that he didn't understand. Mortal emotions felt so different to immortal ones. Immortal emotions were clear and smooth; deep but light-weight. Mortal emotions were heavy. Everything mortal was heavy. His body felt heavy, his mind felt heavy, his feelings too. Or perhaps heavy wasn't the right word. Maybe everything felt more _solid_.

There were physical things happening inside him that he didn't understand because immortal bodies didn't operate in the same way as Earth-humans. His muscles ached as gravity weighed in on him for the first time. His tongue and throat felt dry and his discomfort told him that wasn't how it should be. His stomach felt like it was squeezing in on itself and it _hurt_. He had never felt pain that was purely physical before.

His throat suddenly constricted painfully. This he did recognize because immortals cried too. But he no longer was one. The Horae had kept true to their condemnation. He was banished. He was a mortal.

The only thing that felt remaining of his angelus self was a small handful of his power humming residually through him. Even a small bit of an angel's power went a long way but it still wasn't enough to break through the Immortalis Vēlum to get back to Caelum. The only place he could probably get to on the other side of the Vēlum with his remaining power was Hades, but that would be the _last_ place he would ever go.

So he stored it away, sighing as he leaned on Bella's shoulder, replaying the events in his mind of how he wound up with this new fate.

;...;

_This was probably end up being a novella. I'm really excited for it. Next chapter is already written, just waiting on your thoughts to post it._

_Thank you!_

- The Romanticidal Edwardian


	2. Heavy

**Milosh - The City**

;…;

"_I love you Daddy," she whispered into his leg._

_He hugged her back just as tight. "I'm always gonna be here kiddo. It'll be okay. Go back to sleep for me, hm?"_

Edward snapped back into reality as Bella finally rolled to a stop in her designated parking spot.

He blinked several times as he raised his head off of her shoulder. He wasn't sure what had happened. He couldn't remember parts of the trip sharply, if at all. All he could remember was perusing his memories through a fog.

It was incredibly disorienting.

;…;

Bella breathed out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Edward finally lifted his head from her body and slowly swung himself off of the bike. She put the kickstand down and did the same.

Bella turned and cleared her throat as she was once again taken aback by the angel's beauty, having not seen it for an hour. "Um," she murmured shyly. "F-follow me."

Edward nodded and reached forward to hold her hand. Bella's face went immediately red and she turned quickly, but kept their hands interlocked between them. It was such a foreign feeling.

They made their way up a flight of stairs to Bella's second floor apartment.

_An angel landed right in front of me,_ Bella repeated to herself inside of her head, as she'd been doing the whole trip. _An angel landed right in front of me, and now he's holding my hand as I let him stay with me in my house._

"Unreal," she accidentally muttered out loud.

"Truly," the angel murmured back, and Bella jumped a little. He looked at her quizzically for a moment, making Bella blush again and hurry to fiddle with her keys to get the door open.

Edward stayed silent as Bella struggled through the blood pumping in her face to open the door before it finally, mercifully caved open and allowed them to step inside.

Bella closed the door, locked it, and turned on the living room light.

"Are you afraid of me?" Edward suddenly asked.

Bella turned, wide-eyed, surprised by this question with such an obvious - she thought - answer. "Of course not," she said. "Aren't angels supposed to be the epitome of good?"

Edward sighed again. "Please stop calling me that."

"Aren't you though?" Bella raised a curious brow.

"Not anymore," Edward said as he wandered a little further in the house, looking around. "So every time you say that, there's…a…discomfort? pain?…right here." He pointed toward his gut.

"Oh," Bella said in understanding. "It hurts to think about?"

"Yes," the angel grimaced. "And I'm already feeling a pain in my stomach anyway. It's like it's…squeezing on itself."

Bella thought for a moment before a smile spread across her face.

"I think I can fix _that_ part," she said, and rushed into the kitchen to pour out a quick meal for him of cereal.

"You're hungry," she announced, gesturing that he should sit in the chair in front of the cereal bowl.

"Am I?" he murmured. He sat in the chair she suggested but didn't move to eat. He stared at the bowl with a faint look of disgusted nausea.

"Do you…know how to eat?" Bella asked uncertainly.

Edward pursed his lips and looked up at her with annoyed emerald eyes, jewels with kindling flame behind them. "Yes," he said testily. "I've seen it before. I don't recognize the feelings but I'm not ignorant to the practices."

"Okay okay," Bella said placatingly, putting her hands up. "I surrender. I'm sorry. I was just trying to help."

He sighed. "I know. My apologies. It's been a very strange day."

Bella had to laugh, and then she couldn't stop.

"You're - telling - me," she choked out between giggles, before collapsing into more uproarious laughter. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" She doubled over, holding onto her stomach, laughing into her knees.

Edward watched her, thinking what a curious human she was. But he couldn't help joining in after her laughter prolonged past the point where it should have reasonably ended.

"What a mess," he sighed quietly, shaking his head, but his grin was present and, as always, crooked.

;…;

Bella watched as Edward slowly began to eat his food. First cautiously, with his nose wrinkled with distaste. Then he began to eat with more gusto, finishing his bowl in a matter of minutes. Bella tried to get him to slow down, but he was on auto-pilot.

"I don't like it," he said when he finished.

"You shouldn't have eaten that fast," Bella said with concern. "Since you've never eaten before, or this food at least, you might've - "

Edward's eyes went wide before he was suddenly scrambling away from the table and to the sink, where he proceeded to empty his full stomach.

"- thrown up," she sighed, standing to go help him.

;…;

Edward felt human blood rise in his face for the first time as his puella held his hair back, intermittently rubbing his shoulder soothingly.

He was miserable. On top of this feeling…this…_embarrassment_….his throat was burning as slick textured cereal mush and chunks that he didn't even like as they went down came up in a purge of sick. His eyes watered, he felt strained, like something was right behind his face, pushing against his skin. Mortal blood was so…crude.

When he was done, he sighed, staying slumped over the sink. Bella moved to get him a glass of water from her fridge.

"Swish some around and wash your mouth out," she told him. "Then drink the rest. _Slowly_."

He nodded, ready to listen now to every piece of advice she gave him, just as long as he never had to feel so humiliated like that again. It wasn't like he hadn't already been banished, but now what his mortal must think of such a -

"You're okay?" Bella asked, looking at him with such sweet, caring eyes, his shame flowed away like the blood that was trickling back to where it belonged.

"Yeah." He smiled a little at her. _I'm glad I wound up with you,_ _mei puella, _he thought. So the Horae did have some mercy in their strict hearts.

;…;

"I'm glad I have extra tooth-brushes," Bella muttered, bending to rummage in her bathroom cabinet. Edward waited patiently behind her, waiting for instructions on how to be human.

Bella taught Edward the brushing technique her mother had taught her as a child, and they brushed for two minutes. Bella glanced out of the corner of her eye at him frequently, giggling a little when the bluish-white foam dribbled out of his mouth and his expression became confused. A light pink colored his cheeks.

"You blush pretty easy too," Bella noted.

Edward scowled. "I'm just new at all this," he muttered.

"I'm not judging you," she reassured, soaking in his otherworldly beauty with her undeserving eyes. "I think it's…cute."

"I think it's miserable," he said quietly.

;…;

The blushing went into reverse when the bed situation came up.

Bella cleared her throat. "I'll um…make a bed on the couch. You can have the actual bed."

Edward's brows drew together. "Will that be comfortable for you?" he asked.

Bella hesitated and Edward saw his answer there. "No, I'll sleep there."

"No, it's really not comfy! And I think you should have some comfort, especially now…"

"Then let's both sleep on your bed," he said, like it was the most logical solution in the world.

Bella's mouth dropped as her face became red enough to fry an egg on. She hadn't expected him to suggest that for some reason. She thought maybe he needed some space. But then there were other connotations of sharing a bed…Bella shook those thoughts away. Of course that wasn't on his mind. Even if it was, why in the world would he ever want _her_.

The blush became one of shame.

"S- sure," she stuttered. "Of course - that would be the solution here."

Bella loaned him some baggy t-shirts and soft pants that used to be her father's and that she usually used as night-clothes. As he changed in the bathroom, she changed quickly into her ratty sweats and holey shirt. She looked down at herself, picking at her frumpy appearance.

She sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway," she tried to mumble to herself.

She got in on her side of the bed that she usually leaned toward anyway and faced away from the center of it, facing her dresser instead. She pulled the blankets up and closed her eyes, trying not to think that a very attractive former-angel was going to be sleeping right next to her because she rescued him in a park where he shot from the sky out of no where.

_Now, _that's_ a story idea worth writing about_, she thought to herself wryly.

Her breath caught when she felt him slide into bed next to her.

"My eyes…burn?" he asked her, and she turned a bit so she could look at him. He looked so lost, she had to resist the urge to hug him.

"You're tired," she informed him. "Get some sleep. Have sweet dreams."

"Sleep," he murmured. "How strange a thing."

He closed his eyes and Bella watched him until his breathing evened out into peaceful exhalations. She reached her hand out, wanting to brush a strand of hair from his forehead, but he was too perfect to touch. She retracted her limb and held it close to her chest like she'd been wounded.

;…;

_He was racing through the city streets. His face was bruising quickly, one eye already swollen shut, blood in his mouth. It was raining, so hard to see with the best of vision._

_His little girl waited at home. He had to get back to her, hold her, make sure there was still some peace in the world, protect her from all the evil._

_He was driving around a mountain curve, the rain so slick, and then a truck, going too fast around the corner, sliding on the slippery street, hydroplaning, and he saw so quickly his future, his little girl's face, he'd never see her again - _

Edward's eyes opened suddenly in the dark night, staring at the little bit of streetlight that came through the closed curtains. There was something on his face, something wet…

;…;

Bella woke up at the same time Edward awoke, like some sort of sixth sense.

She turned around blearily and was shocked and not shocked to see tears streaming down his face.

Before she could stop herself she was reaching for him, pulling his head into a hug against her soft chest. "It's okay," she murmured to him. "It's gonna be okay, all right? Things will get better…"

Edward started to sob, and hesitantly put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. He found that he wanted her comfort, her assurance, her body warmth.

"It's too heavy," he sobbed. "It's too heavy being human."

Those words hit Bella so deep in her heart that she felt her eyes pricking too. "That just means that good things weigh a lot too," she said shakily, swallowing her tears.

She rested her head against those soft, silky bronze strands that so intimidated her earlier and held him tightly. Eventually, he quieted, though whether he was asleep or not Bella couldn't tell. She drifted off still wrapped in his embrace.

;…;

_Shorter chapters = quicker updates = :]_

_Please review. You guys were so enthusiastic last time, it made me really excited to write._

_- _The Romanticidal Edwardian


	3. Adjustment

Bella woke up the next morning expecting something. Her eyes opened wide and she felt not at all tired, but as the rumpled bedsheets were sitting at her upper hip and her brown irises blinked thoughtfully at the ceiling, her brow furrowed. Her arms twitched like she was expecting something to be in them. She had a vague idea that perhaps her dreams of strange lightning and bronze feathers had something to do with it. Then she sighed, gave up, rolled over, and closed her eyes again.

They opened with a startled snap as memories of the previous day weaved their way into her mind. That inexplicable lightning was real. And those bronze feathers...feathers from huge wings -

The wings of an angel.

"Edward?" Bella cried out without thinking of her words, flinging the blanket off of her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

Then she froze and let out a breath.

"It was just a dream," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head, her brown locks gently swaying with that movement. "Of course it was just a dream."

"Yes, Bella?"

Bella shrieked and opened her eyes to see the beautiful man from her dreams – and, apparently, yesterday – poking his head through her bedroom door, an adorably confused look on his face.

"Bella?" he asked again, confused and Bella realized that her entire stature had changed - she had curled her knees up to her chest and put her hand over her racing heart.

"You're really here," she said incredulously.

"Yes..." Edward said, coming to stand fully in the doorway. His confusion now changed from adorable to concerned, his eyes clearly questioning her state of mind.

"I'm sorry," Bella breathed, finally relaxing her body to sit normally again. "You might understand if I say that yesterday was a little...abnormal. I questioned its occurrence."

Edward nodded. "Yes. I can understand that." He looked back toward where he had come from. "Do you have anything besides that cereal you gave me yesterday?"

Bella took in a breath, steeling herself for another day plunged into the surreal. "Yeah Edward." A tiny chill went through her body. "Come on, I'll help you."

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?" Bella inquired over a meal of buttered toast and purified water that Edward seemed to be stomaching better than cereal.

"I – okay," Edward gave in, though he looked at her skeptically, hoping she wouldn't poke more at what he didn't want to think about.

"Since you were an angel," she said, picking apart her toast instead of looking at him, "You should be able to tell me. Is there a heaven? And a god? Up until this point I suppose I haven't thought much about it, instead being more indecisive and kind of unconcerned about the whole thing. But I guess it would be nice to know."

"Heaven and God," Edward muttered, then rolled his eyes. "It really is amazing at what explanations you humans come up with for things you don't understand. We marvel at it, actually."

"Oh?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"Well, heaven is relative I suppose," Edward began. "There are other...places, on the other side of the mortal existence. One we call Caelum. That's where angels live and the Moirae and the Horai. If you wanted to call them Gods, I suppose you could."

"So after you die, you become an angel."

Edward rolled his eyes again. "Absolutely not. It's complicated...but angels are made differently from mortals. We are created as we are. And as for mortals...they go to Hades, where their souls rest in the River, or at least that's our nickname for it. They feel nothing, just physical echoes really. I suppose you could say they no longer exist at all."

"Then why do souls go there? Why don't they just...disappear?" Bella asked.

Edward hesitated. "There is a balance to the universe," he said cryptically. "And then there are...exceptions."

"What does that mean?" Bella asked, her brow furrowed.

Edward just shook his head and went back to eating. Bella understood that he wouldn't continue, no matter how she pushed. For now. So she sighed and went back to eating, before finally a thought occurred to her.

"Won't you get in trouble?" she asked. "By the ...whoever cast you out? For telling me this?"

Edward chuckled derisively. "Oh Bella," he sighed. "No one gives a damn what I do anymore."

* * *

_His little girl came racing to him, a huge smile on her petite face, cheeks the color of the fresh apples surrounding them in the orchard. "Daddy, Daddy!" she shrieked, kicking her legs up with her hands outstretched with a proffered apple, fulling putting her trust in the main man in her life to catch her._

_He didn't fail, opening his arms and catching her under the arms and lifting his precious girl to his chest. He took the apple from her, beaming. "Thank you, princess," he said, kissing her until she giggled in delight at his fatherly affection. It was times like this that life was good and he wanted nothing more than to stay in this moment forever._

_The sun shined low through the California apple trees as it set for the day, refuting his wish. His little girl wiggled her way out of his arms and ran to a tree, where a branch only a few feet above her father's head hung with the plumpest, reddest apple she'd seen yet._

"_Daddy!" she cried. "Pick me up!"_

_He laughed, shaking his head. "I just was!" he protested lightly._

"_I want that apple!" she cried in such dismay he couldn't deny her. Sighing but secretly settled, he hoisted her over her head so that she could pick that perfect fruit. As she descended, she took a soft bite out of the apple and closed her eyes in innocent happiness._

_Her father watched, smiling and sharing her emotion. Suddenly he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Brow furrowed, he pulled it out and checked the number. His face paled. Another debt collector. Swallowing, he put the phone back in his pocket and tried to ignore it and regain the happy moment. But the vibrations seemed to stay in his chest like a beating heart hidden under floor boards._

_Unknown to either of them, a set of eyes watched them from afar._

* * *

"I feel...distinctly...unclean?" Edward hazarded to guess, clearly unsure of his words. He ran a hand over his skin then through his hair and shuddered.

"Yeah, I guess you should take a shower," Bella nodded, clearing the lunch dishes. Edward had spent the morning alternately eating, exploring the bookcase, and sleeping. He would get exhausted very quickly, Bella noticed. But she supposed that until he got used to the...heaviness of being mortal, after living an existence free of physical pain, exhaustion, and tension, that he _would_ tire easily.

She led him to the bathroom door. To both of their relief, Edward had figured out on his own how to use the facilities. Both of their faces had colored at the idea that Bella might have to help him with that. Her modesty and his pride would have been too much for the situation to handle.

"Do you know how to clean yourself in the shower? Like, what products to use and how and stuff?" Bella asked, unsure.

"In theory, yes," Edward muttered. "I never watched anyone in the shower though."

"So you were a guardian angel!" Bella said, triumphant.

"Please stop guessing," Edward sighed. "And assuming."

Bella shrugged, then walked in and opened the frosted glass door of the shower.

"This is my shampoo," she said, holding up a pinkish-red bottle. "Run it through your hair, let it sit for a few moments, then rinse it out." She grabbed a similarly colored bottle. "This is my conditioner. Put it in your hair and let it sit for a few minutes. Then rinse." She pointed to a bar of soap. "Use that to clean your whole body. I usually do it while I'm letting the conditioner sit to speed up the process. Two birds, one stone and all that. And you don't look very hairy, but I'll go get you your own razor at some point. And some more manly scents," she said, laughing a little embarrassedly.

"Why?" Edward asked, very confused. "If it's how you smell, then I want it. You smell just amazing."

Blushing, Bella started to stammer, then just ducked out of the bathroom instead, closing the door behind her. "Call me if you need anything," she squeaked and heard Edward merely chuckle in response.

* * *

The feeling of a shower was something Edward felt he could get used to, one of the few times he had felt that since becoming mortal. The hot water rained down on him and he breathed out as the droplets gently hit at his skin, sticking and sliding down. He stood face forward to the water and felt his hair dampen and lay hugging his scalp and face. Down his chest, the droplets fell until they jumped from his skin to their fate in the drain to be reincarnated at some point, somewhere else.

Turning around, he let the water rain on his back. As steam built up and he breathed in the damp air, he felt completely calm for the first time.

Reaching for Bella's shampoo, he reflected again upon the kindness and strangeness of his new girl friend. Or lady savior, as she more accurately was. He took a whiff of the condensed gooey liquid through the open cap and was reminded of last night, with Bella hugging him tightly, her hair falling in a sheltered curtain around him. It was like being in the calm wind in the very center of a tornado.

He was still confused at her implication that he wouldn't like her hygiene products. She smelled heavenly – and he would know best, of course – and as much as thinking about his home pained him as he knew it was lost to him forever, it was still the only home he had ever known. Pain and ecstasy. How contradictory it was to be human.

Edward put his hands against the sweating tile and let the water pour over him until the shampoo washed away on its own and he was clean again.

* * *

The rest of the day continued on in much of the same fashion as the morning.

At some point, Bella asked another question. "Edward?" she asked.

"Yes?" he responded, raising his head blearily from where he had sprawled out on the floor in another episode of severe exhaustion.

"Why do you think you landed near _me_?"

Edward closed his eyes and laid his head back down. "I don't know. I've wondered the same thing myself. All I can is thank the Horai for their sliver of kindness."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Edward raised his brows while keeping his eyes closed. "They put me near the kindest, most understanding and empathetic human I've ever witnessed. I'd say that was some mercy on their parts."

Bella blushed. "Wow. You don't even know me really."

"I've got a pretty good picture," he mumbled, starting to drift off again.

"Besides," Bella continued. "I was asking what you meant about the Horai. You know, you're going to have to explain to me the workings of the universe more specifically eventually."

"Oh just stop asking questions," Edward breathed, and then began to snore softly.

Bella rolled her eyes and went back to her book. "Oh yeah," she muttered. "You really don't know me."

* * *

Note: I am referencing a lot of Greek mythology, but I'm not planning on sticking to the script exactly. Consider it more inspiration than anything. I certainly like to take my own spin on things.

Please review and leave a thought, comment, whatever. I love hearing from you! I have a new computer so I should go back to updating more frequently again. Yay!

- _The Romanticidal Edwardian_


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